Mayawati re-elected as BSP chief for third time

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati was on Thursday re-elected as national president of Bahujan Samaj Party for a third consecutive term.

Fifty-three-year-old Mayawati was unanimously elected on the concluding day of the party's two-day national convention in Lucknow.

Mayawati, elected party chief for the first time in 2003, was re-elected in 2006. She became a Lok Sabha member in 1989, took over the reins of the state in 1995. She headed the government again in 1997 and 2002. In 2007 she became the Chief Minister for the fourth time.

During the convention, attended by national executive office-bearers, heads of state units, MPs, MLAs and ministers, the party decided to launch a nation-wide agitation against anti-people policies of Congress-led UPA government at the Centre.

"The party will organise agitations and demonstrations across the country on different dates to spread the message that Congress is with the capitalists and not with the aam aadmi as it claims to be," a party official said.

During the executive committee meeting, the party reviewed the state-wide situation and discussed several other important issues.

While expressing gratitude towards the party for being elected as the president, Mayawati said she would continue to work with dedication and honesty, and ensure that BSP movement reaches its desired destination.

Mayawati said that she would strive to realise the dream of dalit icons like Jyotiba Phule, Narayana Guru, Bhimrao Ambedkar and Kanshiram to establish an equality based society, which her government was trying to achieve through Sarvjan Sukhay and Sarvjan Hitay policy.

"Since I took over the responsibility as the BSP president on September 18, 2003 due to illness of its founder Kanshiram the party had achieved several milestones, and forming majority government in UP was one of them," she said.

She claimed that in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections BSP emerged as the third largest party at national level and its mass base had increased considerably.

"BSP has emerged as a strong alternative before the people," Mayawati said, adding that the party had fair chances in the forthcoming state assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana.

Referring to party's success in recently held by-elections for four seats, Mayawati said it was a big achievement as BSP won three seats from the opposition.

Mayawati said that vote division due to three Muslim candidates led to RLD's victory on Morna assembly seat, otherwise BSP would have made a clean sweep by winning all the four seats.